Sacrificial Giving

INTRODUCTION

Sacrificial Giving

{There is an old story about a king who was coming to visit a certain land.

The people in the land were so excited that a king would grace their little village with his presence.

They wanted to find a way to honor him and decided to do so by giving him the best of their wine.

Every person was to bring one cup of their best wine from home and they would all put it in one big pot, and when the king came he would taste the best wine from all the people.

One person thought if everyone else was bringing their best then I could bring water, it wouldn’t make a difference with hundreds of others bringing their best.

When the king arrived and tasted the wine, he discovered that it was all water.

The king was not honored.}

How is your giving?

Do you give the best wine to the Lord or do you give mere water to him?

If you just give water, the King of kings will not be honored.

Today’s text talks about a poor widow who gave her best; in fact, she gave all that she had!

Would you take God’s Word and turn your Bibles with me to MARK 12:41-44 (READ)?

I have entitled today’s sermon as: “SACRIFICIAL GIVING.”

In the passage that we read today, we see that:

Sacrificial Giving

Jesus assesses our giving by watching how and what we give.

FALLEN CONDITION FOCUS: Already dealt with.

As Jesus went to the temple, he began condemning the religious authorities for making the Father’s Temple a den of robbers.

However, he ends his visit to the Temple by commending a poor widow.

It’s an amazing contrast between the religious leaders’ greed and this poor widow’s sacrificial generosity.

This story also points to Jesus, who gave his all (his very life) to save sinners.

Though this widow’s sacrifice needs to be commended, we must also lament the fact that she gave sacrificially to the “den of robbers.”

She gives to the religious system which exploits her.

The religious leaders devoured these poor people and lived a life of luxury with their sacrificial offerings.

The victims were giving to their oppressors.

The temple couldn’t help the needy and the oppressed as it became a “den of robbers.”

This story presents the need for Jesus, who is the real temple.

The temple in Jerusalem was a mere shadow of Jesus.

We don’t need a grand and expensive temple in Jerusalem because Jesus himself is the temple.

As the followers of Jesus, our focus must be on people rather than the rituals and the grand temple in Jerusalem.

Read 1 Timothy 5:16.

Read James 1:27.

However, the story of the poor widow teaches us important lessons about sacrificial giving.

THE PURPOSE BRIDGE: To challenge the members of EAGC to give sacrificially.

CENTRAL PROPOSITION OF THE SERMON: I have used an inductive proposition for this sermon.

I. Jesus watches us as we sacrificially give

Refer Mark 12:41-42.

Read Mark 12:41.

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury.

Probably he was tired after all the opposition he had to encounter.

The treasury was around the women’s court where people were allowed to go.

13 trumpet-shaped boxes served as the treasury.

People could bring in their offerings and drop them in one of these 13 offering boxes.

Jesus kept watching (imperfect tense in Greek) the people putting money.

A. What is Sacrificial Giving and what is not

Read Mark 12:41.

Many rich people gave huge sums of money.

As they gave huge sums of money, their offerings probably made a loud clanging symbol because the entryway of the offering boxes was made of metal.

They didn’t have paper currency in those days.

The rich gave a lot of money.

But the rich continued to remain rich even after giving a sizeable offering.

They gave out of their abundance.

B. A poor widow gave two small copper coins as a Sacrificial giving

Read Mark 12:42.

However, the poor widow’s offering was not loud enough.

She was not just a widow, but a “poor widow.”

Probably, she was one of the widows who was devoured by the scribes (refer to Mark 12:40).

She gave two small copper coins (Greek: lepta), which were equal to a penny (Greek: kodrantes), which is 1/64th of a day’s wages of a laborer.

The Greek word ‘lepta’ means ‘a tiny thing.’

It was the smallest coin available in circulation.

If the average wage of a person is Rs. 500, 1/64th of it would be about 8 rupees.

This poor widow could have kept one copper coin.

But she gave everything she had.

Jesus watches how we give and how much we give.

Jesus looks at our motives for giving as well.

ILLUSTRATION

{Years ago, the well-known preacher, John Broadus wanted to impress on his congregation the fact that Jesus knows what we give.

So one Sunday he came down off the platform and walked beside an usher as the offering was taken.

The pastor went up every aisle and watched as each person either gave or passed the plate by.

Some were angry; others were confused or ashamed.

All were surprised.

He went back to the pulpit and began his sermon on this story.

He concluded, “My people if you take it to heart that I have seen your offerings this day and know just what sacrifice you have made—and what sacrifice you have not made—remember that your Savior goes up the aisles with every usher and sees every cent contributed by His people” (“Our Daily Bread,” 5/77).}

Jesus evaluates the offerings that we give

Refer Mark 12:43-44.

A. Jesus said that the poor widow gave more than all the others

Read

Mark 12:43.

This poor widow’s offering didn’t amount to much.

Her offering cannot help the religious leaders to maintain the temple.

The religious leaders probably didn’t care about this poor widow’s offering.

Here, Jesus says that this widow didn’t just give more than anyone else.

Rather, he says that she gave “more than all.”

But why did Jesus say that she gave more than all others?

B. The reason Jesus said she gave more than all the others

Read

Mark 12:44.

1. Others contributed out of their abundance

The rich did contribute out of their abundance.

But there’s no indication that they sacrificed in their abundance.

Probably some of the rich people even made a show of their giving.

Read Matthew 6:1-4.

2. But this poor widow gave everything she had to live on

Charles Simeon points out that if Jesus had not commended this woman’s gift, most of us would have condemned it.

The attitude with which we give matters more than the amount we give.

God doesn’t like it when we give grudgingly or when we give for a show.

He wants us to give cheerfully.

Warren Wiersbe says that it’s not the portion, but the proportion that matters.

Also, the value of a gift is determined by how much that gift costs the giver.

The poor widow’s gift cost her everything.

Read

2 Samuel 24:24.

However, we need to maintain the balance here.

We need to be wise in our giving as well.

If you have a family to take care of, God doesn’t expect you to give away all you have.

Craig Keener says, “The widow would not starve, given provisions for the poor in Jewish synagogues.”

Yet, it was a costly sacrifice.

That’s why Jesus says she gave more than all those who contributed.

By human standards, her offering amounts to nothing; but by divine standards, she gave more than everyone else.

This story also teaches us that what God requires from us is not merely our money.

He requires our hearts.

Widow’s Sacrificial giving challenges our excuses

This poor widow challenges a common excuse that we will give when we have more.

This widow had very little.

Yet, she was a giver.

So, it’s not just the rich, but even the poorest person can glorify God through their giving.

Think about this.

Throughout the history of the church, God’s people have read about this poor widow as a model of sacrificial giving.

Our sacrificial giving can impact and inspire many lives.

The Lord can use our giving to bless others beyond our imagination!

The widow’s giving teaches us to be radical in our trust and commitment to God.

This widow is a model for a sacrificial disciple (contrast Mark 10:21—read).

She imitates Christ who was about to lay down his life for the salvation of humankind (read 2 Corinthians 8:9).

Alan Carr: {The Bible is filled with such extravagant giving.

Consider Abraham who offered his son Isaac, Gen. 22:1-14.

Consider Hannah who gave her son Samuel to God, 1 Sam. 1:28.

Consider the widow who gave the last of her food to Elijah, 1 Kings 17:8-16.

Consider Mary who gave up a very expensive box of ointment and her own glory, 1 Cor. 11:15, to honor the Lord Jesus, John 12:1-8.

Consider people like Stephen, James, and others who literally gave up their lives for the glory of God.

Why did these people pay such a price?

They did it because they loved God more than they loved themselves or their stuff.

They didn’t give until it hurt; they gave until it felt good!

That is a lesson we could all learn!

After all, everything we have is from Him and should be dedicated to Him!}

The Lord wants you to give cheerfully and sacrificially (refer to 2 Corinthians 9:7).

It’s not just about money; we must give our very lives to the Lord cheerfully.

Some Christians do not give themselves to Christ completely.

They withhold some aspects of their life from him.

We must completely surrender our lives to God and we must not withhold anything from him.

CONCLUSION

Give to the Lord’s work sacrificially.

As J. C. Ryle observed,

A giving Savior ought to have giving disciples.

Let’s give to the Lord’s work cheerfully and sacrificially!

Develop a lifestyle of sacrificial giving.

Give your heart to God and then you will give your money to him as well.

IF YOU ARE STILL NOT SAVED, REPENT AND GIVE YOUR LIFE TO JESUS RIGHT TODAY!

For more related sermons,

Giving it all to Jesus | Mark 14: 1 – 8 

Imitating God’s Love

Jesus’ Miracles _ He that was dead sat up! Luke 7: 1 – 17

Beware of Pride and Hypocrisy